Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
Parallel translations
- WEB Barnabas went out to Tarsus to look for Saul.
- BSB Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,
- NKJV Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul.
- NASB And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul;
- NLT Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Barnabas went to Tarsus to seek out Saul. He sought a partner to help shepherd the growing church.
Overview
Barnabas remembers Saul, whom he had earlier befriended (Acts 9:27), and goes to find him for the work at Antioch. This step draws the future apostle to the Gentiles into a strategic ministry. Barnabas's willingness to share and even elevate another leader reflects his selfless, encouraging spirit.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Acts 9:11And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
- Acts 9:27But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.
- Acts 9:30Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.
- Acts 21:39But Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.
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Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 11:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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